Fuel cleaner



May l, 1928. 1,668,071

R. E. HART vFUEL CLEANER Filed June 28. 1926 Jy l pff/af??? May 1, 1928.

R. E,- HART FUEL CLEANER Filed June 28. 1926 Patented May 1, 1928..l

UNITED STATES ROBERT E. HART, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR TO ENSIGN CABEUBETOB COMPANY, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA,A A CORPORATION OF CALIFORNIA.

FUEL CLEANER.

Application filed June 28, 1926. Serial No. 118,882.

This invention has reference to .liquid strainersor cleaners, its more specific object being the provision of an improved type ot' fuel cleaner for use in fuel lines such as on automobiles. But it will, of course be understood from what ,follows that the invention is not necessarilyA limited to -the cleaning or straining of fuel, but is'applicable to various other uses.

It has been found advantageous to provide in automobiles and in other places fuel strainers having a glass body so thatv the accumulation of dirt and other foreign matter may be observed and the cleaner taken l5 apart and cleaned whenever necessary. One disadvantage of the glass walled cleaner has been its liability to breakage, and if the breakage occurs at a time when theautomobile is any considerable distance fromaservice station where a new glass can be obtained great inconvenience is often the re! sult, as there hasbeen no easy way of providing a substitute body for thel cleaner, or of temporarily bypassing the cleaner.

ne of the objects of this invention is to provide such a cleaner having a glass wall, but having such other arrangements that itl the glass becomes broken the parts may be easily assembled so as to still provide in an emergency a closed chamber or compart- `,ment through which the fuel may continue to flow. ln the specific form of the invention hereinafter described and shown in the accompanying drawings this is accomplished b making the metal parts of the cleaner o such form, proportions and configuration that by a simple reversal of one of the parts they maybe assembled without the glass and without the strainer, so that l temporarily at least the device will stillV function. to pass the liquid fuel satisfactorily. Other detailed accomplishments of' the invention depend upon certain details of.

structure and design, all of which will understood from what follows:

A specific form ofthe invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a vertical central section of the cleaner in its normal assembly; and .50 Fig. 2 is a similar view showing thev einen gency assembly.

Referring lirst to y there a cylindric glass 10 which forms the transparent wall of the fuel lchamber, the

' bottom. of the chamber being formedby a Fig. 1 there is shown casting 11 and the top by another casting 12, the glass being held endwise between the two castings with interposed gaskets 10.

The upper casting 12 has fluid passages 13 and 14 within it, the lirst mentioned passage communicating with a screw-threaded pipe connection 15 and the second mentioned passage with a screw-threaded pipe connection 16. Passage 14 communicates with an annular passage 17 which extends around the central hub 18 of the castin and communicates with the space inside t 'e cleanin screen 19.A Passage 13 communicates Wit an annular passage 20, which in turn communicates with the annular space around cleaning screen 19.. One of vsaid passages, as passage 13, may be controlled by a valvel 21 so that the flow lof fluid may be cut oil if desired.

The upper casting 12 has a Hat annular downwardly facing gasket seat 22 surrounded by a downwardly extending flange 23, thev upper end of glass 10 extending up inside flange 23 and bearing against gasket 10.

The lower casting has on its normally upper side a similar annular gasket seat 22 4and a flange 23. Lower casting 11 has also a circular boss or Kflange 24 around which the lower end of screen 19 fits fairly closely, the outside of boss or -fiange 24 being substantially cylindric so that when the screen is placed on it the screen is then held in axial alignment with the lower casting 11. Thus in assembling the device screen 19 is first placed in proper position on lower castin 11 and then when the lower casting is move up against the lower end of glass 10 and screen 19 is moved up inside the glass it is easy to direct the upper end of the cylindric screen onto the conical shoulder 27 which forms the seat for the upper end of the screen in the upper casting `12. In fact,.this conical shoulder has such a taper that if the lower vcasting is moved up into proximate position and the assembly bolt 28 is then screwed into the screw-threaded opening 29, the upper end of the screen will always be guided to a proper seat on the cone-shaped shoulder 27. The device is, therefore, easily assembled even by unskilled persons.

In case glass 10 should be broken it is then only necessary to close valve 21 to out off the flow of uid, unscrew bolt 28, remove the broken glass 'if necessary and remove alsothe screen; then the lower casting 11 mally. u king sai I en either Ais reversed on bolt 28 and the device is immediately reassembled in the relative arrangement shown in Fig. 2. The lower casting 11 has a short flange 30 which normally faces downwardly when the device 1s assembled as in Fig. 1. vThis flange is of the same or ap roximately the same diameter and radial thickness as the glass 10. Therefore when the lower casting 11 is reversed this flange 30 will extend up inside flange 23 of theupper casting and will seat on the asket in the upper casting, ma a uid tight joint with the u per casting w en bolt 28 is tightened up. d the sleeve 2,5 of lower castin 11 is made of the proper length so that wien it is reversed on bolt 28, the head of thatbolt bearing against the then lower end of sleeve will hold the lower casting up in its proper Aposition of emergency assembly.

Although when so assembled in an emergency the device is no lo er capable of screening the fluid passing t rough it, it is capable of temporary use andv m es itI possible to go onto eratlng an automobile for at least a reasona le length of time or until a new glass may be procured.

1. 'A fuel cleaner embodying top and bottom castings forming the ends of a fuel chamber, a cylindric glam side wall adapted to seat at its ends on the two castin to form' a chamber, and a longitudina y extending bolt whose head bears upwardly against the -bottom casting and screws into the top casting the bottom castin having a long norwardly exten ing sleeve surroundbolt and also having a normally downwardly projecting circular flange on its lower surface, said flange being ofsubstantiall the same diameter and radial thickness as e glass, so that upon removal `of the glass and reversal of the lower casting on p said bolt the head of the bolt will then bear u wardly against the then lower end of said eeve and the fiange ofsaid lower casting will seat upwardlyY in to form a chamaggr, and means in an member to pass uid into and out of inst the upper cast- 2. In a device of the character described, comprising two end members and a side wall member normally seating at its ends on thel two end members and forming an enclosed chamber, means in an end member to pass iluid into and out of the said chamber, one `of the end members having on its normally exterior face a flange adapted, upon reversal of that member, to seat upon the other-,end member and form a chamber with that member, and means. for holding the end members together either with the side member between them or without the side member.

3. In a' device( ofthe character described, comprising two end members andv a side Wall member normally seating at its ends-on the two end members and forming an enclosed chamber, means in an end member to pass fluid into and out of the said chamber, one of the end members having on its normally exterior face, a flange adapted, upon reversal of that member, to seat upon' the other end member and form a chamber with that member, and means for holding the end members together either with the side member between them or without the side member, said means comprising a bolt passing through the reversible member and crewmg into the other endlmember.

4. In a device of the character described,

'comprising two end members and a side Wall memberl normally seating at its ends on the two end members and forming an enclosed chamber, means in an end 4member to pass lluid into and out of the said chamber, one.

of the end membersv having on its normally exterior face a flange adapted, upon reversal of that member, to seat upon the other end member andform a chamber with that member, the reversible end member having abolt passing bore and a long surrounding sleeve the major portion of which projects from the side of that member opposite the flange, and a bolt adapted to pass throu'gh the sleeve and draw the two end members together in either position of the reversible'member.

It wltness that I claim the' 4fore oing I have hereunto subscribed my name 's 19th day of June, 1926.

ROBERT E. HART. 

